EARTHCARE – The Bahamas (2009)

EARTHCARE’s Grand Bahama Island Sea Turtle Awareness Campaign was developed to help generate and demonstrate local support for the Bahamian government’s sea turtle harvesting ban, which went into effect September 1, 2009 (see page 17 of SWOT Report, vol. III). Over the course of the campaign, which ran through April 2010, trained volunteers traveled to schools and libraries throughout Grand Bahama to give educational presentations and to encourage student involvement. During the presentations, students learned about sea turtle biology; threats, such as poaching, overharvesting, habitat destruction, and pollution; and the government’s recent ban. Students were then encouraged to write directly to the minister of Fisheries to let him know their feelings about laws that should be implemented to help protect sea turtles in the Bahamas. By the end of the campaign, SWOT Reports had been distributed to all schools, colleges, and libraries on the island of Grand Bahama.